As a lady, in the event you grew up in Nigeria, likelihood is your hair has been by way of extra transformations than you may depend. On this a part of the world, hair is rarely simply hair. It’s tradition, id, creativity, and typically sheer survival.
From the times our moms dragged us to the salon on weekends, to the numerous tears and ache we now have needed to endure as a result of, after all, magnificence is ache. Whether or not you liked them or hated them, these hairstyles unite us Nigerian women in a shared journey of magnificence and discomfort.
Is it the painful threading periods that introduced tears to our eyes, right down to the wig obsession we now put on like a crown, each Nigerian lady has a hair story. Listed below are seven hairstyles that just about each Nigerian lady has worn no less than as soon as.
1. Threading (Irun Kiko)
Threading, regionally known as irun kiko (by the Yoruba), is likely one of the most conventional Nigerian hairstyles. It includes utilizing strands of black rubber thread to wrap sections of hair tightly. This was extra like a starter pack coiffure in the event you had been simply beginning out to make your hair. All of us believed this model helped to enhance development.
For a lot of Nigerian women, threading was critical hair. It was the Saturday ritual earlier than church or college week, usually finished by affected person aunties or hairdressers within the neighbourhood.
It was additionally one of the painful types to sit down by way of due to the tugging, the pulling, and most significantly, the inevitable tears. Nonetheless, it was neat, lasted for weeks, and stored the hair protected and stretched.
For a method we hated as a result of it comes with a lot ache, it’s somewhat stunning to see that it has made a comeback, particularly this 12 months. You now see threading hairstyles throughout your Instagram feeds and even on the streets.
2. Shuku (Updo Cornrow)
Should you didn’t rock Shuku again within the days, are you even Nigerian in any respect? Shuku is a cornrow model the place all of the hair is braided upwards right into a single bun or peak on the centre of the pinnacle, extra just like the youthful sister to All-Again (regular corn rows). Typically, it comes with inventive variations like shuku ologede (banana-shaped) or with extra facet patterns.
This was the traditional college coiffure. It was fast, easy, and tidy. Shuku might be stated to be each mom’s favorite. You would possibly get a pounding headache after, however this explicit coiffure stored hair out of the way in which and ticked the field for neatness. For a lot of women, the look was nearly synonymous with secondary college life.
Shuku additionally carries custom, because it has roots in Yoruba tradition, the place it was traditionally reserved for royalty and particular events. Right this moment, it stays one of the recognisable African cornrow patterns.
3. All-Again Cornrows
This was and remains to be our survival hair. Low-cost, fast and most significantly, permitted by each mom and each college authority. Cornrows, of their easiest type, are braids woven flat towards the scalp in straight traces. In Nigeria, “all-back” means each braid runs from the brow straight to the nape of the neck.
That is unarguably the commonest of all hairstyles in Nigeria and even Africa, though it has since gained extra recognition from totally different elements of the world. For some women, all-back usually got here with complaints of the brow wanting larger. And in the event that they had been tight, your scalp tingled for days.
Regardless of the struggles, all-back was and remains to be versatile. It could possibly be adorned with beads, made in inventive zig-zags or left plain, and it was one of many earliest and best introductions to the world of cornrows.
4. Braids/Ghana Weaving
Braids are maybe Nigeria’s most well-known coiffure export. They contain sectioning the hair into small elements and including extensions, then weaving every half into lengthy plaits. Variations embody field braids (small sq. sections), Ghana weaving (tighter cornrows with extensions added), or jumbo plaits.
For Nigerian women, braids had been a vacation particular again within the day. You knew it was Christmas or a protracted trip when your mum booked a salon day for braids. The method might final hours, typically a whole day, however the consequence was gorgeous.
We might usually adorn these braids with vibrant beads or ribbons for youthful women, or modern, lengthy plaits for older ones. I’ve a reminiscence of turning my head side-to-side simply to listen to the sounds of the beads clicking.
In fact, the primary evening’s sleep after getting braids was one other story. Image your self mendacity in your pillow face down as a result of balancing your head on the pillow appears like your scalp has tiny spikes.
5. Relaxed Hair
Relaxers promised us easy, silky, straight hair that could possibly be combed simply. The method for most ladies, nevertheless, was something however easy. The relaxer cream usually burned the scalp, leaving scabs and even sore spots.
Relaxed hair additionally introduced with it the world of curler units, ponytails, and countless fights with warmth injury. For many people, it was the model that marked the start of our teenage years.
6. Wigs
If threading was childhood survival, wigs are maturity survival. Nigerian girls have embraced wigs as the last word lifesaver. Unhealthy hair day? Wig. Shock outing? Wig. Formal interview? Wig. They’re the true life-style hack.
We could have began the wig period with artificial and fibre hairs that had been a bit too shiny and tangled each 5 minutes, however we now have now advanced to getting high quality wigs.
They now are available in countless varieties like bone-straight, curly, afro, bob cuts, even colored types, and so they supply instantaneous transformation with out stress. For a lot of Nigerian girls juggling work, research, or motherhood, wigs are a handy approach to look polished in minutes.
And to be sincere, the enjoyment of snatching it off your head everytime you need to makes it a handy selection for us.
7. The Pure Hair Period
Pure hair made a comeback years in the past, and Nigerian girls have since then proudly embraced their curls, coils, and kinks. This model selection includes ditching chemical relaxers and sporting hair in its pure texture.
The journey, nevertheless, is way from straightforward. Pure hair requires persistence, spending hours on wash day routines, and mastery of styling strategies like twist-outs, Bantu knots, afros, and puffs. Additionally, shrinkage (when the hair seems shorter than it is because of tight curls) stays a humbling reminder that pure hair has a thoughts of its personal.
Pure hair has change into a press release of delight, id, and self-acceptance. Nigerian girls now rock their afros at weddings, in workplaces, and even on pink carpets.
These hairstyles are extra than simply hair or style traits. They’re phases of our lives and cultural signposts that mark childhood, adolescence, and maturity for us as Nigerian women.
They carry tales of ache, magnificence, delight, and creativity. Whether or not you’re group pure, group wig, or just nostalgic about these threading and cornrow days, one factor stays true and that’s the proven fact that Nigerian women at all times discover a approach to slay, it doesn’t matter what is on our heads.
